Carol For Another Christmas
Being a fan of Rod Serling, and as Christmas draws near, I wanted to remind all of you about a film from '64 titled Carol For Another Christmas.
When you think of Christmas, the name "Rod Serling" doesn't normally come to mind, yet Serling wrote one of the most unusual versions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol ever shown on television. Carol for Another Christmas (1964) was conceived at a time when the threat of nuclear annihilation was still very much a part of the American psyche, as was the assassination of President John Kennedy. It was hard to be an optimist in 1964.
Carol for Another Christmas
by Lorraine LoBianco | October 09, 2012
Carol for Another Christmas
When you think of Christmas, the name "Rod Serling" doesn't normally come to mind, yet Serling wrote one of the most unusual versions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol ever shown on television. Carol for Another Christmas (1964) was conceived at a time when the threat of nuclear annihilation was still very much a part of the American psyche, as was the assassination of President John Kennedy. It was hard to be an optimist in 1964.
Carol for Another Christmas was shot at the Michael Myerberg Studios in New York City and produced for ABC, to air as part of a series in support of the United Nations. The Xerox Corporation underwrote the project, which cost $4 million dollars and enabled the specials to air without commercial interruption. Carol for Another Christmas was shown on American broadcast television only once, on December 28, 1964. Hollywood veteran Joseph L. Mankiewicz, best known for All About Eve (1950), directed and Henry Mancini wrote the theme music, which later appeared on his album A Merry Mancini Christmas.
Peter Sellers, recently recovered from a near-fatal heart attack, was reunited with his Dr. Strangelove (1964) co-star, Sterling Hayden for the film. Hayden played the "Scrooge" character (here, called "Daniel Grudge"), a tycoon who has held a grudge for twenty years over the death of his son, Marley, killed in action on Christmas Eve, 1944. Peter Fonda played the son, but his scenes were cut out of the finished film, although he can be seen in photographs on the set.
The death of Marley has left Grudge embittered and angry, with a "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" attitude toward foreign relations. In order to bring about his reformation, Grudge is visited by the three Ghosts of Christmas. Actor-singer Steve Lawrence, dressed as a WWI doughboy, appeared as The Ghost of Christmas Past, with The Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Pat Hingle, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, played by Robert Shaw, taking the audience and Grudge through a post-apocalyptic land. There, he is shown the dangers of the present and a possibly more frightening future. Also in the cast was Eva Marie Saint as a Navy WAVE, Ben Gazzara, in the "Nephew Fred" role, and wearing a 10 gallon hat and a Pilgrim costume, Peter Sellers. Sellers played an original character created by Serling, called Imperial Me, a Mad Max-like leader of a gang of apocalypse survivors.
Whether it was because the film was so dark, the victim of bad timing or simply did not fit in with the lighter fare and children's programming that normally dominates the Christmas season, Carol for Another Christmas languished in obscurity until recently. Although it can be described as somewhat of a downer, the film is a must-see, not just because it has not been generally available for nearly 50 years and contains a long-forgotten Peter Sellers performance, but because it is a reflection of both its time and the state of mind of one of television's most brilliant writers.
Despite the less-than stellar critical reviews, Carol for Another Christmas earned two Emmy nominations, for "Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment, Art Directors and Set Decorators" for Jack Wright, Jr. and Gene Callahan, and "Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment" for director Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Source:
by Lorraine LoBianco/TCM
The following comes directly from Wikipedia.
I hope you enjoy reading it.
Based on
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Written by
Rod Serling
Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring
Britt Ekland
Ben Gazzara
Sterling Hayden
Pat Hingle
Steve Lawrence
Percy Rodriguez
Eva Marie Saint
Peter Sellers
Robert Shaw
James Shigeta
Barbara Ann Teer
Music by
Henry Mancini
Producer
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cinematography
Arthur J. Ornitz
Editor
Nathan Greene
Running time
84 minutes
Original release
Network
ABC
Release
December 28, 1964
The film was the only television program ever directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz,and included Peter Sellers' first performance after recovering from a near-fatal heart attack earlier in 1964. The film also featured Sterling Hayden, who had previously co starred with Sellers in Dr. Strangelove and Britt Ekland, who was married to Sellers at the time.
Plot:
On Christmas Eve, rich American industrialist Daniel Grudge (Hayden) sits alone in a dark room of his mansion playing a record of a World War II-era popular song, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)" by The Andrews Sisters. He looks at a framed display of war medals on the wall and seems about to cry. He shuts off the record player, but as he leaves the room, he hears the record start to play again of its own accord, despite the player being shut off. Downstairs, he meets a visitor, his nephew Fred (Gazzara). Grudge caustically notes that Fred always comes to him for help with various causes and asks what cause he is promoting this time. Fred complains that Grudge used his influence to cancel a cultural exchange program that Fred's university had planned with a Polish counterpart. In the ensuing argument with Fred, Grudge takes the isolationist position that the United States should stay out of international affairs and not participate in cultural exchange programs, foreign aid to the needy, or discussions at the United Nations. Grudge distrusts foreign countries, and contends that the U.S. should build up its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, and make sure other countries know the U.S. is willing to use them. Fred disagrees, arguing that the U.S. should help all people in need and foster international communication in order to avoid future wars and nuclear destruction. As Fred leaves, he reminds his uncle that they have one thing in common: their love for Grudge's son Marley, who was killed in World War II on Christmas Eve 1944.
After Fred leaves, Grudge once again hears the record playing upstairs, and sees a short vision of the deceased Marley sitting at the dining room table. Suddenly, Grudge finds himself on the deck of a fogbound troopship carrying coffins draped in flags, guarded by soldiers at attention. A soldier on board introduces himself as the Ghost of Christmas Past (Lawrence) and explains that the ship is carrying the dead of all nations from World War I. Through the fog, Grudge spots a second vessel carrying World War II's dead, and learns they are in a huge convoy, carrying the dead from conflicts through history. The Ghost suggests that the way to stop the killing is to spend more time talking, since when talking stops, fighting starts. He and Grudge revisit a scene from Grudge's past in which Grudge, a Navy commander, accompanied by his WAVE driver (Saint), visited a hospital in devastated Hiroshima and saw Japanese schoolchildren whose faces had been destroyed by the atom bomb.
Grudge walks through a door and meets the Ghost of Christmas Present (Hingle), who is feasting on an excessively large Christmas dinner on Grudge's dining table. This new Ghost turns on a light and shows Grudge that next to the dining room is an internment camp full of displaced persons from different nations who are poor, hungry, and lacking adequate shelter. These people search through the snow for food as the Ghost eats in front of them. When Grudge criticizes the Ghost for this behavior, the Ghost reminds Grudge of his earlier statement to Fred that refusing donations to the needy would make them less needy and more self-reliant. The Ghost harangues Grudge with statistics and information about needy people in the world and finally in a fit of anger pulls the tablecloth, dumping huge amounts of leftover food on the floor. Grudge cannot stand any more and runs away into the dark.
Grudge emerges into destroyed ruins that he recognizes as having been his local town hall, where he encounters the Ghost of Christmas Future (Shaw). This Ghost explains that the town hall was wrecked in a disastrous nuclear conflict that killed most of the world's people. A handful of survivors enter, led by a demagogue called "Imperial Me" (Sellers) who wears a Santa suit and a cowboy hat cut into a crown. The crowd cheers as Imperial Me is paraded in and gives a speech exhorting each person to act as an individual in their own self-interest. Grudge watches his butler, Charles (Rodriguez), try unsuccessfully to convince the crowd that acting collectively for the greater good of all is essential for humanity's survival. Imperial Me and the crowd mock Charles as crazy and beat him. Finally Imperial Me has Charles brought forward and charges him with treason. Charles tries to escape but is shot dead by a little boy in a cowboy outfit. Grudge's cook Ruby (Teer) weeps over Charles' body, while the crowd, led by Imperial Me, enthusiastically prepares to first kill the people across the river who had approached them wanting to talk, and then kill off each other until only one person is left. An agitated Grudge asks the Ghost if this is the world "as it must be, or as it might be", but the Ghost simply leaves without answering.
A shaken Grudge awakens back in the real world on Christmas morning, on the floor of his intact study with the phone in his hand. His nephew Fred appears and says that Grudge called him at 3 a.m. and asked him to stop by on his way to church. Grudge apologizes to Fred for his statements of the previous evening and, without explaining the reason for his change of heart, indicates cautious support for the United Nations and international diplomacy as a way to prevent future wars. Grudge further shows his new internationalism by enjoying a radio broadcast of the children of UN delegates singing Christmas carols in their native languages. Fred leaves and Grudge, rather than have Charles serve him on a tray as usual, goes into the kitchen to have his Christmas morning coffee with Charles and Ruby.
Production Notes:
Carol for Another Christmas was the first in a series of television specials commissioned by the United Nations with the goal of educating viewers about the mission and work of the UN and thereby gaining more widespread support. (Six specials were originally planned, but only four were produced.) The nonprofit Telsun Foundation was formed to develop the programs, and Xerox agreed to contribute $4 million to underwrite the costs of production and air time, thus allowing the programs to be broadcast without commercial interruption.
The film was the only television work ever done by Mankiewicz, who, according to Phil Hall, was happy to have work following the damage done to his reputation by Cleopatra the previous year.The actors involved with the production reportedly agreed to waive their fees due to the nature and perceived importance of the program. Peter Sellers, who at the time was reported to charge $750,000 or more, appeared for only $350, the Screen Actors Guild weekly minimum.
Filming took place at the Michael Myerberg Studios located on Long Island, New York, during the fall of 1964. Henry Mancini wrote the theme music, also waiving his usual fee. It later appeared on his 1966 Christmas album A Merry Mancini Christmas.
Peter Fonda's scenes as Grudge's late son Marley were cut from the film prior to release, leaving only brief glimpses of Fonda reflected in a glass door and sitting mute at a table. However, Fonda's image remains in the film in the form of a large portrait of Marley hanging prominently in Grudge's study where several scenes take place. Although advance publicity articles listed Richard Harris, Godfrey Cambridge and Christopher Plummer among the cast, none of these actors appear in the finished film.
The main character was originally named Benjamin Grudge so that his name could be shortened to the pun "B. Grudge", but ABC viewed this as an insult to 1964 Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, whose initials were also B.G., and the character's name was changed to Daniel Grudge, while the broadcast was postponed until eight weeks after the election.
When you think of Christmas, the name "Rod Serling" doesn't normally come to mind, yet Serling wrote one of the most unusual versions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol ever shown on television. Carol for Another Christmas (1964) was conceived at a time when the threat of nuclear annihilation was still very much a part of the American psyche, as was the assassination of President John Kennedy. It was hard to be an optimist in 1964.
Carol for Another Christmas
by Lorraine LoBianco | October 09, 2012
Carol for Another Christmas
When you think of Christmas, the name "Rod Serling" doesn't normally come to mind, yet Serling wrote one of the most unusual versions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol ever shown on television. Carol for Another Christmas (1964) was conceived at a time when the threat of nuclear annihilation was still very much a part of the American psyche, as was the assassination of President John Kennedy. It was hard to be an optimist in 1964.
Carol for Another Christmas was shot at the Michael Myerberg Studios in New York City and produced for ABC, to air as part of a series in support of the United Nations. The Xerox Corporation underwrote the project, which cost $4 million dollars and enabled the specials to air without commercial interruption. Carol for Another Christmas was shown on American broadcast television only once, on December 28, 1964. Hollywood veteran Joseph L. Mankiewicz, best known for All About Eve (1950), directed and Henry Mancini wrote the theme music, which later appeared on his album A Merry Mancini Christmas.
Peter Sellers, recently recovered from a near-fatal heart attack, was reunited with his Dr. Strangelove (1964) co-star, Sterling Hayden for the film. Hayden played the "Scrooge" character (here, called "Daniel Grudge"), a tycoon who has held a grudge for twenty years over the death of his son, Marley, killed in action on Christmas Eve, 1944. Peter Fonda played the son, but his scenes were cut out of the finished film, although he can be seen in photographs on the set.
The death of Marley has left Grudge embittered and angry, with a "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" attitude toward foreign relations. In order to bring about his reformation, Grudge is visited by the three Ghosts of Christmas. Actor-singer Steve Lawrence, dressed as a WWI doughboy, appeared as The Ghost of Christmas Past, with The Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Pat Hingle, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, played by Robert Shaw, taking the audience and Grudge through a post-apocalyptic land. There, he is shown the dangers of the present and a possibly more frightening future. Also in the cast was Eva Marie Saint as a Navy WAVE, Ben Gazzara, in the "Nephew Fred" role, and wearing a 10 gallon hat and a Pilgrim costume, Peter Sellers. Sellers played an original character created by Serling, called Imperial Me, a Mad Max-like leader of a gang of apocalypse survivors.
Whether it was because the film was so dark, the victim of bad timing or simply did not fit in with the lighter fare and children's programming that normally dominates the Christmas season, Carol for Another Christmas languished in obscurity until recently. Although it can be described as somewhat of a downer, the film is a must-see, not just because it has not been generally available for nearly 50 years and contains a long-forgotten Peter Sellers performance, but because it is a reflection of both its time and the state of mind of one of television's most brilliant writers.
Despite the less-than stellar critical reviews, Carol for Another Christmas earned two Emmy nominations, for "Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment, Art Directors and Set Decorators" for Jack Wright, Jr. and Gene Callahan, and "Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment" for director Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Source:
by Lorraine LoBianco/TCM
The following comes directly from Wikipedia.
I hope you enjoy reading it.
Based on
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Written by
Rod Serling
Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring
Britt Ekland
Ben Gazzara
Sterling Hayden
Pat Hingle
Steve Lawrence
Percy Rodriguez
Eva Marie Saint
Peter Sellers
Robert Shaw
James Shigeta
Barbara Ann Teer
Music by
Henry Mancini
Producer
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cinematography
Arthur J. Ornitz
Editor
Nathan Greene
Running time
84 minutes
Original release
Network
ABC
Release
December 28, 1964
The film was the only television program ever directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz,and included Peter Sellers' first performance after recovering from a near-fatal heart attack earlier in 1964. The film also featured Sterling Hayden, who had previously co starred with Sellers in Dr. Strangelove and Britt Ekland, who was married to Sellers at the time.
Plot:
On Christmas Eve, rich American industrialist Daniel Grudge (Hayden) sits alone in a dark room of his mansion playing a record of a World War II-era popular song, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)" by The Andrews Sisters. He looks at a framed display of war medals on the wall and seems about to cry. He shuts off the record player, but as he leaves the room, he hears the record start to play again of its own accord, despite the player being shut off. Downstairs, he meets a visitor, his nephew Fred (Gazzara). Grudge caustically notes that Fred always comes to him for help with various causes and asks what cause he is promoting this time. Fred complains that Grudge used his influence to cancel a cultural exchange program that Fred's university had planned with a Polish counterpart. In the ensuing argument with Fred, Grudge takes the isolationist position that the United States should stay out of international affairs and not participate in cultural exchange programs, foreign aid to the needy, or discussions at the United Nations. Grudge distrusts foreign countries, and contends that the U.S. should build up its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, and make sure other countries know the U.S. is willing to use them. Fred disagrees, arguing that the U.S. should help all people in need and foster international communication in order to avoid future wars and nuclear destruction. As Fred leaves, he reminds his uncle that they have one thing in common: their love for Grudge's son Marley, who was killed in World War II on Christmas Eve 1944.
After Fred leaves, Grudge once again hears the record playing upstairs, and sees a short vision of the deceased Marley sitting at the dining room table. Suddenly, Grudge finds himself on the deck of a fogbound troopship carrying coffins draped in flags, guarded by soldiers at attention. A soldier on board introduces himself as the Ghost of Christmas Past (Lawrence) and explains that the ship is carrying the dead of all nations from World War I. Through the fog, Grudge spots a second vessel carrying World War II's dead, and learns they are in a huge convoy, carrying the dead from conflicts through history. The Ghost suggests that the way to stop the killing is to spend more time talking, since when talking stops, fighting starts. He and Grudge revisit a scene from Grudge's past in which Grudge, a Navy commander, accompanied by his WAVE driver (Saint), visited a hospital in devastated Hiroshima and saw Japanese schoolchildren whose faces had been destroyed by the atom bomb.
Grudge walks through a door and meets the Ghost of Christmas Present (Hingle), who is feasting on an excessively large Christmas dinner on Grudge's dining table. This new Ghost turns on a light and shows Grudge that next to the dining room is an internment camp full of displaced persons from different nations who are poor, hungry, and lacking adequate shelter. These people search through the snow for food as the Ghost eats in front of them. When Grudge criticizes the Ghost for this behavior, the Ghost reminds Grudge of his earlier statement to Fred that refusing donations to the needy would make them less needy and more self-reliant. The Ghost harangues Grudge with statistics and information about needy people in the world and finally in a fit of anger pulls the tablecloth, dumping huge amounts of leftover food on the floor. Grudge cannot stand any more and runs away into the dark.
Grudge emerges into destroyed ruins that he recognizes as having been his local town hall, where he encounters the Ghost of Christmas Future (Shaw). This Ghost explains that the town hall was wrecked in a disastrous nuclear conflict that killed most of the world's people. A handful of survivors enter, led by a demagogue called "Imperial Me" (Sellers) who wears a Santa suit and a cowboy hat cut into a crown. The crowd cheers as Imperial Me is paraded in and gives a speech exhorting each person to act as an individual in their own self-interest. Grudge watches his butler, Charles (Rodriguez), try unsuccessfully to convince the crowd that acting collectively for the greater good of all is essential for humanity's survival. Imperial Me and the crowd mock Charles as crazy and beat him. Finally Imperial Me has Charles brought forward and charges him with treason. Charles tries to escape but is shot dead by a little boy in a cowboy outfit. Grudge's cook Ruby (Teer) weeps over Charles' body, while the crowd, led by Imperial Me, enthusiastically prepares to first kill the people across the river who had approached them wanting to talk, and then kill off each other until only one person is left. An agitated Grudge asks the Ghost if this is the world "as it must be, or as it might be", but the Ghost simply leaves without answering.
A shaken Grudge awakens back in the real world on Christmas morning, on the floor of his intact study with the phone in his hand. His nephew Fred appears and says that Grudge called him at 3 a.m. and asked him to stop by on his way to church. Grudge apologizes to Fred for his statements of the previous evening and, without explaining the reason for his change of heart, indicates cautious support for the United Nations and international diplomacy as a way to prevent future wars. Grudge further shows his new internationalism by enjoying a radio broadcast of the children of UN delegates singing Christmas carols in their native languages. Fred leaves and Grudge, rather than have Charles serve him on a tray as usual, goes into the kitchen to have his Christmas morning coffee with Charles and Ruby.
Production Notes:
Carol for Another Christmas was the first in a series of television specials commissioned by the United Nations with the goal of educating viewers about the mission and work of the UN and thereby gaining more widespread support. (Six specials were originally planned, but only four were produced.) The nonprofit Telsun Foundation was formed to develop the programs, and Xerox agreed to contribute $4 million to underwrite the costs of production and air time, thus allowing the programs to be broadcast without commercial interruption.
The film was the only television work ever done by Mankiewicz, who, according to Phil Hall, was happy to have work following the damage done to his reputation by Cleopatra the previous year.The actors involved with the production reportedly agreed to waive their fees due to the nature and perceived importance of the program. Peter Sellers, who at the time was reported to charge $750,000 or more, appeared for only $350, the Screen Actors Guild weekly minimum.
Filming took place at the Michael Myerberg Studios located on Long Island, New York, during the fall of 1964. Henry Mancini wrote the theme music, also waiving his usual fee. It later appeared on his 1966 Christmas album A Merry Mancini Christmas.
Peter Fonda's scenes as Grudge's late son Marley were cut from the film prior to release, leaving only brief glimpses of Fonda reflected in a glass door and sitting mute at a table. However, Fonda's image remains in the film in the form of a large portrait of Marley hanging prominently in Grudge's study where several scenes take place. Although advance publicity articles listed Richard Harris, Godfrey Cambridge and Christopher Plummer among the cast, none of these actors appear in the finished film.
The main character was originally named Benjamin Grudge so that his name could be shortened to the pun "B. Grudge", but ABC viewed this as an insult to 1964 Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, whose initials were also B.G., and the character's name was changed to Daniel Grudge, while the broadcast was postponed until eight weeks after the election.
